OCR Text

Capital, The (Newspaper) - February 2, 1995, Annapolis, Maryland
Limits sought on lame Hopes to curb teen smoking HOOP FEST Navy upsets Terps dump UVA Dl Navy's WM Cooper battles fbflOOM basketball. High schoolers study at How to pick a pediatrician COLD DETAILS- PAGE All THURSDAY Banning policy called too tough School proposal raises questions By DENNIS SULLIVAN Staff Writer The county school board is consider- ing a tough discipline policy that some say punishes students before they are found guilty of an offense. The unveiled at a school board meeting would allow the superintendent to suspend or expel students accused of a violent crime off school grounds. are going to withdraw some- body from the school system when you don't Jtnow if they're guilty or said Carolyn former president of the County Council of PTAs. 'This is Board Member Thomas E. FTorestano suggested that it could violate a stu- dent's civil rights. But a school system lawyer called it a that pits the rights of the students to a safe environment against the rights of the accused. don't want to exclude anybody from the school but at some point rt may be necessary for benefit of everybody said Darren staff attorney. The accused student would be al- lowed to return if charges were if he or she was or if the student was no longer considered a threat Mr. Burns and P. Tyson lawyer for the school were asked to determine whether the policy was legal. Several board members also said alternative education programs should be offered. hope we don't lose sight of the fact that it's still in the best interest of the Page Parents try to save water safe-' ty FEBRUARY 2. MD DERBY DAY At the starting Una of ttw Plntwood Derby at SL Lutheran Cub Master Paul and Ms Den Chief of Troop 771 from align three of the small wooden cars that need. The can were bum by the Cub Scouts for the annual competition. as three cars Impact at the finish line on a rolled-up Cub Scouts offer their opinions about who won to line judge Vmce of Annapolis. Jeremy of points to the vehicle he thinks Is the winner. Evan Purcell's car won first Gordon and Iris third. by Bob Capital HOME 25C 33C Glendening aides give up sick pay But county legislators want them to 'give it all back9 ByTODDSPANGLER Staff Writer County legislators were not satifisied with yesterday's decision by three top aides to the governor to return in unused sick leave pay they collected from Prince George's County. Noting Arundel County's own- problems with benefits for public offi- some said the aides should return everything. Give it all said Del. Marsha D-Crofton. time is sick Three of Gov. Parris N. Glendening's top aides yesterday agreed to return half the unused sick-leave pay they collected while working for the Prince- George's County government. Mr. Glendening served as county executive there for 12 years. The move was an effort to defuse a controversy that has rocked the initial days of the new administration. Chief of Staff Major F. Riddkk Deputy Chief of Staff Michelle T. Roz- ner and Personnel Secretary Michael J. Knapp said they would give back half the sick pay they collected upon leaving county government to join the Glenden- ing administration. But they will not return lump-sum payments for unused vacation time. need to get this issue behind us because it is distracting Mr. Rid- dicksaid. Under a county the three officials were allowed to collect 100 percent of their accumulated sick leave because they were sep- Governor BMOSf from Mlctwlw T. nOznftfe MIctuMl Je Kiuipfi MM Major F. Riddlck Jr. address the from the county when Mr. Glendening asked for their resignations before leaving as county executive. The trio will still collect a substantial amount of money. By taking half his unused sick pay and 100 percent of vacation time he did not use in almost 17 Mr. Riddick will keep Mr. of will retain Ms. Rozner. But local lawmakers still were unim- pressed with the givebacks. this we're particularly sensitive to this kind of said Sen John C. D-Annapolis Page Borrowing costs to rise following rate hike ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK When credit card rates hovered above 19 percent three years consumer groups accused banks of gouging customers. Don't look now. Interest rates on many of the cards and other consumer loans are heading back up following the latest increase in short-term interest announced yesterday by the Fed- eral Reserve Board. In the seventh increase in a the central bank pushed up two key rates to their highest levels since early 1991. The discount rate the interest the Fed charges on loans to commercial banks was raised from 4.75 percent to 5.25 percent The target for the more important federal funds rate the interest that banks charge each went up by a to 6 percent. move prompted most major to increase their benchmark prime lending rates from 8.5 percent to 9 percent The Fed wants to slow the economy to the point where inflation is not a threat Slower consumer spending is part of the and by raising the Fed is pushing up interest charges on credit mortgages and car loans for millions of Americans. But some are worried that the Fed's action could hit Maryland harder be- cause the nationwide economic recov- ery has lagged here. fear is that Maryland and Anne Arundel County were never at the same pace as the rest of the and we're going to get hit said Richard J. president of Anna- polis National Bank. He said the increases probably would mean fewer businesses seeking loans for thereby fulfilling the Fed's goals of slowing the economy. But it could have a mixed effect on home sales. Although rising interest rates have scared many homebuyers from the if they sense this is the last Fed increase for they may return for the big spring real estate Mr. Morgan said. Some critics that the Fed is overreacting it had occurred on Super Bowl the Fed would have been penlaized for piling Sen. Paul said in a statement He cited Fed Chairman Alan Green- span's testimony to Congress last week that the economy still may not have reacted to the Fed's rate increases in November he consumer de- mand is prompting businesses to cut production and lay off workers. The effects also surface in the rates everyday consumers pay on credit cards. A card holder with a balance will pay another this year in interest charges because of the latest said Robert B. pres- ident of RAM Research Corp. in Freder- which tracks credit card trends. Factoring in the impact of all seven rate the average cardholder is paying more in interest compared to this time last RAM said. Most credit cards carry variable rates tied to the prime rate. With the average card at 17.99 many Visa and MasterCard users will see rates rise above 18 according to RAM. The last time rates were that consumer groups and lawmakers ac- cused banks of gouging customers. Page Gingrich suggests returning B.C. to Md. INSIDE By SHANON D. MURRAY and JULIE GAMMELL GIBSON Capital News Service WASHINGTON House Speaker Newt Gingrich raised the possibility of making the District of Colombia a part of Maryland but it was quickly dismissed by state and District officials. During his daily question-and- answer session with the Georgia Republican raised the idea while reaffirming Congress' commit- ment to the cash-strapped city. He said he was prepared to turn the District over to Maryland if that would and could support the move be- cause do think the argument about representation and taxation is legiti- District residents have no voting representatives in yet pay But Mr. Ging- rich said he was not ready to talk A Iftf about sonttng con- trol of the erase the minute you get into con- yon get into all sorts of emo- tional arguments that are totally counterproduc- A better first step would be to hire an auditor to get to the bottom of the city's financial he said. The speaker said he would meet with congressional budget leaders tomorrow to discuss adding that he was committed to helping. Most Maryland officials were not amused by the suggestion of a state Page RonaM Shlpp says he can't believe that OJ. Simpson would lie about a conversation they had the night after Mr. Simpson's ex-wife and her friend were murdered. A2 Honor Lottery________ AiumMArtM___ C4 AmnM Report.-.. Bl Cetondlf_______ AS 83 C8 C13 OMthNaOCM...-C14 Editorials______A12 For the Record-... B2 Portions of The are printed each day on recycled paper. The newspaper also to B3 A4 C4 All Pofct All Severn B4 South 65 Sports--------------Dl-6 vv AS CtaaMed Circulation 268-7000 268-4800 Area good for conference hub but study says test elsewhere By DAVE GULLIVER and JEFF NELSON StaffWriters An independent state study has determined that Annapolis would be a strong location for a conft and convention but recom- mended first testing the waters in Montgomery County. The Coopers Lybrand consulting firm concluded that a Montgomery County site would generate far more spending by visitors than an Annapo- lis site. But it favored Annapolis in most other including the return on investment Citing that the Annapolis City Council Finance Committee this certainly appears to confirm the fundamental economic benefits of a conference center for Michaels. Lofton morning approved a feasibility study of a city conference center. The study explore the transportation and land issues related to a conference center or residential and commercial development at the comer of West Street and Taylor Avenue. The resolution goes before the City Council Feb. 13. The city study the site hi part because Coopers Ly- brand study has recognized the ctty of Annapolis as a viable tite for t conference and convention the resolution said. That finding and the slate study's mixed menage had local officials simultaneously tooting it white criticizing some of its points yesterday. certainly appears to confirm the nindajnentaUoonomie of dMTOU Pasy
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